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Praxikon

Article 9: Processing of special categories of personal dataAI-relevant

Praxikon tracks Article 9 (Processing of special categories of personal data) under the GDPR, alongside the EU AI Act, citing the source for every statement.

Chapter IIIn force since 25-05-2018

What does Article 9 govern?

Article 9 prohibits in paragraph 1 the processing of special categories of personal data: data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs or trade union membership, and genetic data, biometric data for unique identification, health data and data concerning sex life or sexual orientation. Paragraph 2 lists ten exceptions in which the prohibition does not apply, such as explicit consent (a), obligations under employment law (b), data manifestly made public by the data subject (e) and health care (h). Paragraph 3 ties the health care exception to professional secrecy, and paragraph 4 lets Member States set further conditions for genetic, biometric and health data. The article exists because, according to recital 51, these data are by their nature particularly sensitive and their processing can create significant risks to fundamental rights. An exception under paragraph 2 comes on top of, not instead of, the legal basis under Article 6 (recital 51).

Key term: Special categories of personal data: the sensitive data listed in paragraph 1 whose processing is prohibited unless an exception in paragraph 2 applies

Directly affects:controllerprocessordata subjectmember statedata protection officer

Praxikon’s reading of the text and the recitals; the official text below prevails.

AI Act intersection

Special categories of personal data are relevant for prohibited AI practices (Art. 5 AI Act, biometrics) and data governance (Art. 10 AI Act, bias detection).

Official text

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Processing of personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, and the processing of genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person's sex life or sexual orientation shall be prohibited.
Paragraph 1 shall not apply if one of the following applies: (a) the data subject has given explicit consent to the processing of those personal data for one or more specified purposes, except where Union or Member State law provide that the prohibition referred to in paragraph 1 may not be lifted by the data subject; (b) processing is necessary for the purposes of carrying out the obligations and exercising specific rights of the controller or of the data subject in the field of employment and social security and social protection law in so far as it is authorised by Union or Member State law or a collective agreement pursuant to Member State law providing for appropriate safeguards for the fundamental rights and the interests of the data subject; (c) processing is necessary to protect the vital interests of the data subject or of another natural person where the data subject is physically or legally incapable of giving consent; (d) processing is carried out in the course of its legitimate activities with appropriate safeguards by a foundation, association or any other not-for-profit body with a political, philosophical, religious or trade union aim and on condition that the processing relates solely to the members or to former members of the body or to persons who have regular contact with it in connection with its purposes and that the personal data are not disclosed outside that body without the consent of the data subjects; (e) processing relates to personal data which are manifestly made public by the data subject; (f) processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims or whenever courts are acting in their judicial capacity; (g) processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest, on the basis of Union or Member State law which shall be proportionate to the aim pursued, respect the essence of the right to data protection and provide for suitable and specific measures to safeguard the fundamental rights and the interests of the data subject; (h) processing is necessary for the purposes of preventive or occupational medicine, for the assessment of the working capacity of the employee, medical diagnosis, the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems and services on the basis of Union or Member State law or pursuant to contract with a health professional and subject to the conditions and safeguards referred to in paragraph 3; (i) processing is necessary for reasons of public interest in the area of public health, such as protecting against serious cross-border threats to health or ensuring high standards of quality and safety of health care and of medicinal products or medical devices, on the basis of Union or Member State law which provides for suitable and specific measures to safeguard the rights and freedoms of the data subject, in particular professional secrecy; (j) processing is necessary for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes in accordance with Article 89(1) based on Union or Member State law which shall be proportionate to the aim pursued, respect the essence of the right to data protection and provide for suitable and specific measures to safeguard the fundamental rights and the interests of the data subject.
Personal data referred to in paragraph 1 may be processed for the purposes referred to in point (h) of paragraph 2 when those data are processed by or under the responsibility of a professional subject to the obligation of professional secrecy under Union or Member State law or rules established by national competent bodies or by another person also subject to an obligation of secrecy under Union or Member State law or rules established by national competent bodies.
Member States may maintain or introduce further conditions, including limitations, with regard to the processing of genetic data, biometric data or data concerning health.

Source: EUR-Lex, Regulation (EU) 2016/679. Official text, reproduced without modification.

What does this mean for you?

Controller

First establish whether you process data listed in paragraph 1, including where you infer them from other data, then determine which exception in paragraph 2 applies; record both. If you ask for explicit consent (paragraph 2(a)), this goes beyond ordinary consent and must name specified purposes. If you use AI, for example, to uniquely recognise faces in photos, those are biometric data under recital 51; an ordinary photo without such technical processing is not. Also check whether your Member State sets further conditions for genetic, biometric or health data (paragraph 4).

Processor

Know whether you process special categories for the controller, because the safeguards that belong to the exception, such as secrecy in health care (paragraph 3), must also be in place on your side. If you use these data for your own purposes, you are the controller for that part and need your own exception under paragraph 2 and a legal basis under Article 6.

Data Protection Officer

For each project, test whether special categories are involved and whether the chosen exception in paragraph 2 genuinely fits; 'manifestly made public by the data subject' (e), for example, requires that the data subject did this themselves. Remind the organisation that a legal basis under Article 6 is needed in addition to an exception under paragraph 2 (recital 51).

Data Subject

Your sensitive data may not be processed as a rule (paragraph 1). If an organisation asks you for explicit consent, it must be clear for which specified purposes this is (paragraph 2(a)). Recital 54 says that health data processed for reasons of public health may not be used by employers, insurers or banks for other purposes.

Compliance checklist

Related recitals

Cross-references

Frequently asked questions

Connections

What connects to Article 9 GDPR

Themes where this returns

The counterpart in the other law

Case law

Guidelines

Enforcement and fines

Legislation in motion